The only member of a top Russian hockey team to survive a plane crash that killed 44 people died Monday of his injuries in a Moscow hospital.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at the farewell ceremony on Saturday for at the victims of the plane crash near Yaroslavl. The only hockey player to survive the crash has now died of his injuries.

By:Lynn BerryThe Associated Press, Published on Mon Sep 12 2011

MOSCOW—The only member of a top Russian hockey team to survive a plane crash that killed 44 people died Monday of his injuries in a Moscow hospital.

The Vishnevsky hospital said 26-year-old Alexander Galimov died of the severe burns that covered about 90 per cent of his body, despite the best efforts of doctors in its burn unit, considered one of the best in Russia.

The crash Wednesday of a chartered Yak-42 jet outside the western city of Yaroslavl took the lives of 37 players, coaches and staff of the local Lokomotiv Yaroslavl ice hockey club. The only other person to survive, flight crew member Alexander Sizov, was moved out of intensive care and into a general ward at Moscow's Sklifosovsky hospital, the RIA Novosti news agency reported Monday.

Unlike many other members of Lokomotiv who were European Union citizens and once played in the NHL, Galimov was a native of Yaroslavl and a product of its youth program.

His death is certain to be deeply mourned in the city, where the team's consistently strong performance was a source of great pride.

At rallies following the crash, fans chanted "Galimov, live for the whole team!" and other slogans dedicated to him.

"All of Yaroslavl, all of the country, all of the world followed the doctors' words, believing, hoping, praying that he would defeat death and remain with us," Yaroslavl Gov. Sergei Vakhrukov said.

The governor described Galimov, a forward, as a fan favourite who remained true to his home club for many years.

"He carried the team spirit of Lokomotiv and through his indomitable character often reversed the course of the most difficult games," Vakhrukov said.

The crash, one of the worst ever aviation disasters in sports, shocked all of Russia and the international hockey community.

The team was heading to Minsk, Belarus, to play its opening game of the Kontinental Hockey League season when the three-engine plane crashed into the Volga River bank shortly after takeoff and burst into flames. Investigators say they have come to no conclusions yet about the cause of the crash.